diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index e8f5b8e1665fc2bcc4931d87efaa3e9bd09dd8b9..f1744e370e0c18941d1a9965999b5736ca2de494 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ stages:
 - manifest
 - deploy
 before_script:
-  - mkdir ~/.docker
+  - "[ -d ~/.docker] || mkdir ~/.docker"
   - "echo '{ \"experimental\": \"enabled\" }' > ~/.docker/config.json"
   - docker login -u gitlab-ci-token -p $CI_JOB_TOKEN $CI_REGISTRY
 ppc64le: